


Somewhere in Brooklyn

by Weasleywasborninabin



Category: Night at the Museum (Movies)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Alternate Universe - Music, Alternate Universe - Musician, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Bodyguard AU, F/M, M/M, Music AU, musician au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-22
Updated: 2017-05-05
Packaged: 2018-03-29 15:20:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3901150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weasleywasborninabin/pseuds/Weasleywasborninabin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the club Larry works as a security guard at closes down, a friend offers him a job as a bodyguard for a musician he works with...</p><p>(Larry/Ahk main pairing, with a bit of Teddy/Sacajawea and Jed/Octavius in the background)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a musician AU and is heavily inspired by Bruno Mars does because I love him and there are _so many_ of his songs that I think relate really well to Ahk and Larry...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Larry loses his job, Jed comes to the rescue.

Larry had been working as a security guard at ‘The Other Side’ - a small rock venue on the outskirts of Brooklyn - for four years now. He'd gotten the job when he was 26, after being in and out of temp jobs for nearly two years, and while neither the pay nor the hours were brilliant at The Other Side, he stayed because enjoyed working there; seeing so many young and talented bands just starting out was really refreshing and it was especially nice when he found out later on they'd managed to make it big after being spotted by agents at the club. It was also great getting to know all the regulars who came into the club. Out of all of them there were two who Larry had really hit it off with; first was Rebecca, who’d been coming in every week for as long as Larry had worked at The Other Side. She used to only come in to see their resident band, a punk rock three-piece called _'Huntress'_ , but since Huntress got signed and made it big Rebecca had started coming in more and more to see other bands; and there was Jed (short for Jedediah but no one ever called him that) who would come in three or four times a week unless he was on tour (he played in a band). Jed was great - he was really enthusiastic about every band who played and always made an effort to talk to the musicians when they came off stage and tell them how much he'd enjoyed their show.  
  
Larry had first met Jed a couple of years before, but to say they had immediately hit it off would be a lie. The loud blond had barged his way to the front of the venue one day just as Huntress were coming off stage and started a conversation with Sacajawea, who’d looked very startled and confused. Larry’s security guard instincts had immediately kicked in and before he knew it he’d grabbed Jed by his jacket and pulled him back behind the barrier.  
  
“Hey man, what d’you think you’re doing?” He’d asked angrily, letting go of his jacket, “It’s crew only back here.”  
  
The other man had looked like he was about to say something but Sacajawea quickly came to his rescue, "Larry, it's fine! Don't you know who that is?!" She’d asked him quietly, gently laying a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"It's okay, partner,” the man had said with a smile before Larry could even reply, “Name's Jedediah. I jus' wanted to come over and tell the girls how great I thought their set was. I play in a band too y’see and I know talent when I see it!"  
  
"Oh," Larry had mumbled in reply, already disliking this _Jedediah_ character, “Well, if it’s okay with you, Sacajawea, then that’s fine… I guess…”  
  
He had left Jed talking to Sacajawea and the rest of the band, feeling inexplicably annoyed about the whole situation.  
  
Not long after that Huntress were offered a record deal and were taken out on tour by some huge band and they stopped playing The Other Side. Larry was happy for them, but he missed having them around. Though they kept in touch he only saw them after that for very brief visits because they were so busy. Larry had thought maybe Jed would stop coming in after Huntress got signed but it seems he wasn't just a fan of the girls as he started coming in _even more_ regularly after that. Jed always claimed that he came to The Other Side with his friend ‘Ahk’ but Larry had never seen him with anyone else, and surely if he came to The Other Side with a friend he wouldn’t be down the front annoying Larry _every other evening?_ Eventually though, Larry and Jed got talking and Larry discovered Jed wasn’t as bad as he’d first thought and they actually ended up becoming pretty good friends. Larry still had no idea what band Jed was in though and felt way too embarrassed to ask about it as he knew it must be a fairly famous one ‘cause every once in a while he got recognised.  
  
-  
  
Larry loved working at The Other Side so when he was told that it would be shutting down, needless to say, he was devastated. He had talked to Debbie, the owner of the venue, about it as soon as he got into work but she had just told him what he already knew; there was nothing that could be done about it, the club just wasn’t making enough money and she was too old to continue running it in the state it was in. So Larry sadly resigned himself to begin searching for another job as soon as he got home that night.  
  
“What’s up, partner?” Jed asked in way of greeting, leaning on the barrier Larry was currently situated behind, slumped against the low stage. “You’re lookin’ a little glum.”  
  
“Just had some bad news, Jed…” Larry replied miserably, pushing himself up off the stage and into a proper standing position to converse with his friend, “I may as well tell you as you’re gonna hear it soon enough anyway; the club’s gonna be shutting down.”  
  
Jed looked really genuinely upset by the news, “Oh mannn, that really blows,” he groaned, running a hand through his shaggy hair, “How come? Ain’t there nothin’ that can be done about it?”  
  
“Don’t think so, I talked to Debbie, the owner y’know, about it but all she said was not enough people were coming in and we were barely breaking even these past few months. It’s costing her more to run it than it’s worth, and at her age I think she just wants to retire and not have to worry about this place…” Larry sighed.  
  
“Damn, that’s terrible, Larry. I know how much you love this ol' place… Jesus, Ahk’s gonna be real upset about this too.”  
  
“Ahh, the mysterious ‘Ahk’ who definitely does exist.” Larry joked, trying to lighten the mood. It was a running joke between the two of them as Larry had never actually seen this ‘Ahk’ Jed so frequently talked about but Jed insisted he always accompanied him to the club.  
  
Jed laughed and clapped Larry on the shoulder, “Well I guess you’ll never get to meet him now, if the club’s shutting down,” then his face paled, “that means you're out of a job then, does it, partner?”  
  
Larry just nodded, already trying to think of a way to explain this to Erica. She was furious the last time he lost a job.  
  
“You ever done any bodyguarding, Larry?” Jed asked suddenly, bringing Larry out of his thoughts.  
  
“Erm, not really? I’ve only really done general sort of security work to be honest, why?” Larry questioned, his interest sparked.  
  
“Jus’ thinkin’. Don’t want a good friend like you outta work; I know a guy who needs a new bodyguard. His old one just got sacked for stealing y’see, literally a couple'a days ago, and management haven’t gotten round to hiring a new one… I was thinkin’ you’d be perfect for the job, could put in a good word for ya.”  
  
Larry’s heart missed a beat, “Seriously? You don’t have to do that for me, Jed! I don’t wanna give you any bother, I was gonna start looking for a new job when I got home and I still have a few weeks before I’ll have to leave…” Larry began to ramble.  
  
“Hush, man, hush,” Jed interrupted with a smile, holding up his hands, “Seriously, it’s no trouble at all. I think you’d be great for the job! Jus' wait here while I go grab a couple'a things and I’ll sort everything out with you,” he said before wandering off to the back of the venue where the raised bar area was located. Larry saw him sit at a table with a man wearing a hat, a dark coat with the collar pulled up to cover his face, and _sunglasses_.  
  
_That must be the mysterious ‘Ahk’,_ Larry thought to himself, _Sunglasses? At a gig? What sort of weirdo is this guy?_  
  
Larry watched as Jed and Ahk had a quick whispered conversation; it looked like they were arguing but it was hard to tell what Ahk’s facial expressions were due to the fact Larry couldn’t see his face at all because of his ridiculous outfit, but Jedediah kept laughing and nudging the other man so Larry assumed they couldn’t be arguing about anything serious. Eventually Ahk nodded at Jed who stood up and, patting the other man on the shoulder and looking very pleased with himself, made his way back over to Larry.  
  
“Right, so here’s the address,” he said, handing Larry a business card (which he quickly put in his wallet so as not to lose it), “I’ll text you with a time as soon as Ahk's confirmed one… Reckon it’ll all be fine, you got good enough experience for the job and I can back you up on how good you are, definitely the best security guard I’ve ever met,” he grinned playfully, “I think you’ll be in with a really good chance, man.”  
  
“Okay,” Larry replied, still trying to comprehend quite what was going on. He’d managed to get himself an interview for a new job mere hours after being told he would lose his current one? Larry couldn’t ever remember being so lucky in his whole life! “Thank you so much Jed, seriously. You’re an absolute lifesaver.” He gushed, he didn’t think he could ever express quite how grateful he was to Jed for giving him this chance.  
  
“No worries, man. Anythin' for a friend,” Jed replied seriously, “Now how about we forget about this sadness for a little bit and enjoy some great music, yeah?” He smiled as the first band of the evening took to the stage to soundcheck, “I’ve heard these guys are really good live, I meant to see them when I played Diorama Festival last summer but somehow ended up missing them…” Larry smiled as he listened to Jed talk animatedly about all the bands that had been at the festival. Despite their initial differences he was really glad he had ended up getting to know Jed, he felt really lucky to have a friend like him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the first chapter, sorry it's so short and sorry there wasn't more Ahk. It was just an introduction to the universe really - he'll be in the next chapter more!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Larry finally meets Ahkmenrah...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ysyk, in this story Larry is 30 and Ahkmenrah is 19, Jed is 30ish too  
> (I kinda imagined Larry looking a bit like Ben Stiller does in [ Tropic Thunder](http://www.abc.es/blogs/media/ben.jpg) (though a bit younger) cause he's got a bit of a security/bodyguard type build in that)

The show had been pretty calm for the first couple of bands but by the time the headliners of the evening, _‘…And the Huns’_ , were due to come on a huge crowd had gathered, all waiting to see the revered metal band. When the lights went down and the band finally took to the stage to an incredibly overdramatic soundtrack, the room was filled with screams and shouts from the eager audience, and before the band had even started playing a circle pit had broken out in the middle of the crowd. Larry sighed, he could already tell he was gonna have his work cut out for him this evening.  
  
Larry hadn’t even had the chance to think about Jed and his generous job offer again until he was ushering the last of the enthusiastic metalheads out of the venue at midnight. Sometime during the first song Jed had shouted something to Larry about heading back over to Ahk but Larry had been so preoccupied with handing out water and heaving crowd surfers over the barrier that he hadn’t really taken in what the other man had said. As he changed out of his uniform and hung it in his locker Larry thought sadly about all the great memories he had made over the years he had spent working at The Other Side, and how it would all be over soon. He grabbed his phone out of his jacket pocket as he left the venue and began the short walk home and was pleased to see he had a text from Jed:  
  


[](http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac62/weasleywasborninabin/Somewhere%20in%20Brooklyn%20-%20Ahkmenrah%20x%20Larry%20fic/Jed-texts_zpsuthcisyj.jpg)  
  
  
[ _Hey man, Ahk says come down about 1.30 tomorrow and he'll sort out the interview for you. Address is on the card I gave you,  
let me know if you need directions or anything! :D_](http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac62/weasleywasborninabin/Somewhere%20in%20Brooklyn%20-%20Ahkmenrah%20x%20Larry%20fic/Jed-texts_zpsuthcisyj.jpg)

 

 

 

Larry smiled to himself as he tucked his phone back into his pocket. He was so glad to have been given this opportunity but he also felt slightly anxious about the interview. He didn’t normally get nervous about these things, but he had never done any body guarding before; surely that would damage his chances of getting the job? He decided to put his worries out of his mind and just focus on what he could do to really impress the interviewer. As he pulled out his keys to unlock the door to his apartment his hand brushed against his wallet and he remembered the business card Jed had given to him. A bit of research into both the company and the job requirements could put his mind at ease. Dumping his bag on the couch, Larry made his way over to his bedroom. It was a small room, containing only a single bed and, in the corner, an ancient desktop computer. The floorboards creaked as he crossed the room to boot the computer up. After what felt like hours of waiting, the relic of a computer finally managed to load and Larry immediately typed the company address into Google (constantly afraid that the piece of junk would break at any moment).

-

After a couple of hours of research Larry had found out that the address he had been given was that of MNH Records. They were a fairly new label but that didn’t seem to be hindering them at all; since the label was founded just one year ago they had signed huge names such as Space-Monkey, Xiangliu, Pharaoh, and, to Larry’s surprise, Huntress! ( _I wonder if I’ll be guarding them,_ Larry thought for a second before realising that Jed had said it was a guy who had needed a new guard). Larry had also found out that it wasn’t uncommon for people from security or military backgrounds to move onto bodyguarding and was generally accepted as the logical next step. Though you had to be trained to acquire a license, the course was only two weeks long and on many forums people had said that if you applied for a body guarding job without a license, but had relevant experience, employers would quite often provide the training. Reading all this had calmed Larry’s nerves somewhat and for the first time since starting his research he realised how tired he was. Checking the clock he was shocked to find it was already past 3 a.m.! He swore softly under his breath. He’d better get to bed, if he didn’t get a good night’s sleep before the interview tomorrow he risked really messing up his chances, and he desperately did need the job. Plus Jed had gone to so much effort to sort this out for him he just couldn’t do that to the other man. He shut down his computer quickly before heading to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He decided that it would be best to shower in the morning, especially considering how tired he was. So, without even changing out of his clothes, he headed back to his room and sank into the small bed, immediately drifting into a deep sleep.  
  
-  
  
Larry awoke at 8 a.m. the next morning to the sound of his cellphone buzzing loudly on the bedside table as the sun shone brightly through the curtains he had forgotten to close the night before. He rolled over and, rubbing his bleary eyes, blindly reached out for the mobile.  
  
“Hello?” He answered sleepily, without even thinking to check who was calling.  
  
“ _Hello? Larry?_ ” Came the high pitched voice of his ex-wife.  
  
“Eugh,” Larry attempted to suppress his groan but it came out much louder than he’d intended, “Er, morning Erica, how’re you?”  
  
“ _How am I?_ ” She shrieked, “ _How am I? How are_ you _, Larry? Other than the fact you just lost your job, I mean!_ ”  
  
Larry groaned again, not bothering to attempt to hide it this time; he should have known she’d only called to have a go at him, “Don’t worry about that, it’s gonna be fine,” He attempted to assure her as he propped himself up to rest against the headboard in an attempt to stay awake, “I already have a-”  
  
“ _Lawrence Daley!_ ” Erica interrupted before he could explain further, “ _I wake up this morning to the news that my ex-husband, who is partially responsible for the well being of our 10 year old son, has lost his job, and I’m being told not to worry about it?! What is wrong with you? You do realise you’re not going to be able to afford_ -”  
  
“Erica, Erica, calm down!” Larry interjected loudly, sick of her non-stop berating, “If you’d actually just stop and listen to me for a minute I’d be able to tell you that I have an interview for another job today.”

“ _Oh,_ ” Erica mumbled awkwardly and Larry smiled, _clearly she hadn’t been expecting that_.

“Yeah,” Larry grinned, putting an end to the awkward silence that was stretching on as Erica struggled to find something to say, “Bodyguard. Not sure who for, a friend of mine got me the interview.”

“ _Oh, Larry why didn’t you say sooner? That sounds great, how exciting,_ ” Erica said happily. Larry was surprised (and relieved) she didn’t mention the risks involved with body guarding, but perhaps she was so relieved he had an interview that she hadn’t even thought about it, _“Good luck with that then! I really do hope it goes well… Um, are you still picking up Nicky from school later?_ ”

Larry rolled his eyes at her attempt at small talk, “Of course, Erica. Just like I do every Friday.”

“ _Great, he’s really looking forward to it!_ ” She paused for a moment, probably trying to think of something else to say, but failing, “ _Well, I’ll see you Sunday afternoon then. Bye Larry, good luck again!_ ”

“Good bye, Erica,” Larry said, shoving the cellphone under his pillow and throwing the cover over his head before attempting to get a couple more hours of sleep.

-

Larry’s taxi pulled up outside MNH records at ten past one, his stomach full of butterflies. As he paid the driver and climbed out of the car Larry gaped up at the building in front of him; it was enormous! For a company that was only founded a year ago it was certainly doing well. This did very little to calm Larry’s nerves, he felt extremely intimidated by the whole situation; this was completely different to his tiny underground rock club on the other side of Brooklyn. Suddenly all the information he had gathered last night seemed pointless. No amount of research could make Larry seem good enough for a job at a company as huge as this, especially as he didn’t even have the necessary training! Trying to calm his nerves and make himself seem more confident Larry breathed in deeply and stood up straight, before walking through the revolving doors and into the building. Larry relaxed slightly when he was immediately greeted with the sight of Jed sprawled over one of the large couches in the lobby playing on a pink Nintendo DS. He had the volume turned up full and was muttering to himself every so often as he punched the buttons and tapped away on the little screen. The receptionist sat at her desk, typing on a computer, and paying Jed absolutely no attention, which led Larry to assume this must be a regular occurrence. He laughed to himself at the thought and Jed looked up from his game at this, finally noticing Larry. He smiled, shutting the screen and placing the console on the small coffee table, before bounding over to Larry like a huge golden retriever.

“Hey there, partner!” He grinned, throwing an arm around Larry’s shoulders and immediately beginning to steer him towards an elevator, “How you doin’? Great show last night wasn’t it? Sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye, Ahk needed to leave early and I couldn't find you before I left. Glad you managed to find this ol’ place okay though!”

“No worries, Jed. Glad you enjoyed it. Tilla and the guys certainly know how to put on a show!” Larry replied, as Jed pushed the button for the fourth floor and the doors shut with a small _bing!_ , “Do you work here then, Jed?” Larry asked curiously, thinking about how comfortable Jed had seemed in the lobby and how little attention the receptionist had paid him, “I knew you were in a band but this place is _huge_!”

“Yeah,” Jed smiled, leaning against the wall as the elevator stopped on the thirty-second floor to let a couple more people in, “Well, I’m the guitarist for one of the bands signed to the label,” He said casually and one of the women who had just got in giggled loudly. Larry was a bit confused as to why but Jed turned round and winked at her, making her blush and giggle even more. Larry raised his eyebrow at Jed in a silent question but the other man just shook his head, “Later, partner, later.” He murmured mysteriously as the lift doors opened and a robotic voice announced that they had reached the fiftieth floor.

Jed guided Larry down a corridor and into a small kitchen area, through a door and into yet _another_ corridor which eventually came out by a private lift. _This place it is maze_ , Larry thought to himself, _how the hell does anyone find their way around?!_ Jed scanned a keycard and the lift doors slowly opened. Larry, growing more curious by the second, followed Jed into the lift as he pressed the only button on the panel. The lift went up just one floor and they exited into a small area not dissimilar to the living room in his apartment, but slightly bigger.

Larry took a quick look around the room; to his right the sun was gleaming through a huge floor-to-ceiling window through which he could see a breathtaking view of the river and the Brooklyn Bridge; in the centre of the room there were a couple of couches and coffee tables littered with sketches and notebooks, as well as several CDs; and to the left of the room were a few doors, most of which were open, through which Larry could see comfy, informal office-type rooms. One door even looked like it lead into a mini recording studio! The furthest door, at the end of a short corridor directly in front of Larry, was shut. This was the door that Jed gestured to.

“Ahk’ll interview you just through there,” Jed smiled reassuringly, and Larry realised Jed had never actually mentioned before that it would be Ahk who interviewed him, “He’s real friendly so don’t worry about it, I’m sure he’ll agree that you’re perfect for the job, man!” He exclaimed, clearly sensing Larry was feeling nervous. He nudged him towards the corridor playfully, “I’ll see you when you come out! Good luck!” He added as Larry began to edge towards the door. When Larry glanced back over his shoulder he saw Jed walk towards a room, presumably his own office.  
  
Larry swallowed nervously as he reached the door and, clearing his throat, he knocked three times and waited impatiently for a response. After a few seconds he heard a well-spoken English accented voice say, “Come in,” and he opened the door with only a moment’s hesitation.  
  
The sight that greeted him was possibly _(definitely)_ the least formal interview location he had ever seen. It essentially looked like a huge student dorm; posters of films and rock and pop bands alike adorned the walls, there was an enormous flat-screen TV, a pool table, every type of games console imaginable, _several_ beanbags _and_ a huge comfortable-looking couch on which was sat the guy he could only assume was this ‘Ahk’ he’d been told so much about.

Larry gaped at him; he had not been prepared for this. The man was young - much younger than Jed - and dressed in a casual maroon button down shirt and dark grey jeans. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to just below his elbows and Larry could see tattoos peeking out from under them. But more noticeably than that, the man - who, Larry’s brain noted unhelpfully once again, could definitely not be older than twenty-one - was utterly gorgeous. He was smiling, almost nervously (though Larry had no idea what he could be nervous about), up at Larry from his place on the couch, his gorgeous green eyes sparkling in the light streaming in from the large window, and Larry instantly thought he had never seen anyone quite like him. His perfect, caramel skin practically glowed; he had the prettiest full, pink lips; and dark curls framed his gorgeous features. The butterflies in Larry’s stomach promptly increased tenfold.

“Hi,” the man greeted him, elegantly getting up from the couch and holding his hand out for Larry to shake, “You must be Larry! I’m Ahkmenrah… Would you like to sit?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, apologies for how much crap I made up about getting hired as a bodyguard with no experience but it's fiction and it fits the plot so I'm guessing no one cares about that _too_ much? ;)


	3. Chapter 3

“Ahkmenrah?!” Larry blurted out before he could stop himself, “Is that seriously your real name?” Larry could feel his face turning red before the final words had even left his mouth and his hands flew to cover his mouth in horror. _Nice job, Daley, sabotage your chance before the interview’s even started._ “I am so sorry!” He exclaimed quickly, “That was _incredibly_ rude!”

But to Larry’s surprise - and immense relief - Ahkmenrah merely laughed and waved his hand in dismissal, “It is my real name, actually,” He smiled, “Most people just call me Ahk though, as Ahkmenrah is a bit of a mouthful. Now, shall we get started?”

-

The interview was odd to say the least; Ahkmenrah asked him about his favourite TV shows, movies, bands, video games - and absolutely nothing about his previous experience as security guard. It felt more like he was being interviewed to be Ahk’s friend than to protect some famous, probably spoilt, pop star guy.

After about forty-five minutes of random questions and not so much as a whisper of the words ' _previous experience_ ' (or lack thereof in Larry's case), Ahkmenrah smiled and stood up. Larry, taking this as a cue that the interview was over, rushed to mimic him.

“Well,” Ahk said, placing the iPad he had been reading his questions from on the table, “That should be fine then. Jedediah will be wanting you to fill out some forms in his office and of course you’ll have to talk to McPhee as well… But before all that, would you like me to show you around and introduce you to everyone?” Ahk asked him with a huge grin.

“I- What-?” Larry stuttered, not following what Ahkmenrah was saying at all.

“You got the job,” Ahk tells him with another stunning smile, “I couldn’t _not_ hire you; you’re perfect!”

Larry was shocked to say the least, “Oh," he exclaimed with a slight blush (even though he knew that Ahk wasn’t calling _him_ perfect). He was slightly lost for words but managed to mumble “Oh, well that’s great. Uh, thank you so much, Ahkmenrah!”

Ahk laughed slightly at Larry's surprised expression and assured him that it was ' _a no-brainer_ ' and ' _please, call me Ahk_ ', before holding the door open for Larry and grinning, “So, onto the tour of the building?”

-

Ahk spent another forty-five minutes giving Larry a tour of the lower floors and Larry only found him more and more charming as the time progressed. The building was so huge that Ahk didn’t have time to show Larry around the whole thing, but according to Ahk he’d only really be likely to spend time around the top eight floors where the private 'offices' were (offices were Ahk called them; half the rooms just looked like rec rooms to Larry), half the other floors were apparently rented out to various artists and the others were mostly just admin stuff. When they’d eventually made their way back up to the private offices, Ahk stopped in the open area and they said their goodbyes.

“It’s been an absolute pleasure meeting you, Larry! Jedediah will give you all the paperwork you need to fill out and you can sort out when you’re available to do your training. I’ve just got a couple of things to attend to but I’ll see you a bit later on!” As Ahk turned to go, Larry felt a wave of disappointment wash over him, and mentally slapped himself for finding himself so attracted to someone _so incredibly_ out of his league. But try as he might he couldn’t help but hope he’d be seeing more of Ahk in his time working for MNH Records.

-

Jedediah was thrilled (though, Larry noted, not surprised) to find out that Akhmenrah had given Larry the job. He sat Larry down on a huge couch in his office to go over confidentiality agreement, payment details, and other _Very Important Paperwork_.

Jed sat in a comfy looking armchair on the opposite side of a glass coffee table on which he had spread out various schedules and other paperwork, “When is a good time for you to begin your training then, Larry?” Jed questioned him over the top of the paper he was reading, “It will be about two weeks and then you’ll be able to get straight to work. I think Ahkmenrah would like you to start as soon as possible but if you need to sort some things out with ol’ Debs at The Other Side, I’m sure he’d be cool with that. You know how much he loves the place.”

“I can start training whenever, really.” Larry shrugged, “I mean, it’ll be a day thing, won’t it? So I’ll still be able to do my night shifts at the club…”

“True that, partner.” Jed smiled, handing Larry the last piece of paperwork.

“So, uh, who am I ‘guarding’?” Larry asked with a nervous laugh, feeling a little like he was signing away his soul for something he hadn't even _seen_ yet.. He’d signed so many agreements already and he didn’t even know who he’d be looking after, the guy could be a total brat!

“Ahh, Ahk didn’t tell you?!” Jedediah asked with a laugh of his own, “Oh shit! Maaan, this is gonna be hilarious!”

Larry was feeling confused, and anxiety and nervousness were quickly becoming his most prominent feelings again. He immediately began to imagine the worst possible scenario; images swam through his head of a teenage pop star who had grown up with everything being handed to him on a plate, prone to fits of rage over the smallest things, constantly showing up late to his shows, uncaring for his fans and employees alike... Larry fervently hoped this wouldn’t be the sort of star they were expecting him to protect because he was already thinking would rather stay unemployed.

Larry was thrown out of his daydream ( _or daymare… was that a thing? Cause that was totally what he'd been having…_ ) by a song beginning to play through the massive surround sound system in Jed’s office, the song sounded very familiar to Larry and it didn't take him long to realise why, “Oh,” Larry exclaimed, “I know this song! My son plays it _all the time_.” This was true, what he didn't mention was that Nicky played it so often that Larry had taken to keeping a spare pair of his earplugs on him at all times so he could block the song out if needed.

“I should hope you know it! It was the biggest selling single last year, boy. It won tons of awards!” Jed grinned, bobbing along to the beat.

“Yeah, this is by that Pharaoh guy, right? He did that ‘Grenade’ song as well?” Jed nodded, beginning to air guitar along to the chorus, “Hmm he’s pretty famous, I don’t know much about him though,” And, desperately hoping this 'Pharaoh' wasn’t a total asshole, Larry asked cautiously, “Is that who I’ll be guarding?”

“It most certainly is, boy!”

 _Well that’s pretty exciting, I guess,_ Larry thought. He’d never taken a huge amount of interest in celebrities, preferring more underground music, but he'd always thought what he'd heard of Pharaoh’s stuff was pretty good, and he’d never really seen any particularly negative press about the guy. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too bad in person. He couldn’t wait to tell Nicky he’d be working for one of his favourite pop stars! “So when do I meet him?” Larry asked, his heart rate increasing in anxiety and anticipation.

Jedediah giggled and pushed his laptop over to Larry so that he could see the video accompanying the song. On the screen was a young man dressed in a dark blue button down top with the sleeves rolled up, black jeans, scuffed converse on his feet, arms adorned with Egyptian-looking tattoos and dark eyeliner ringing his bright eyes... if Larry didn’t know better he could have sworn it looked just like… “ _Ahkmenrah?_ ” Larry asked, his mouth dropping open in surprise.

“The one and only!” came a voice from the door and Larry looked up to see Ahk leaning against the door frame, an amused smirk on his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's too short and i took too long to write it and i suck sorry


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Larry is finally introduced to the famous "Pharaoh"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been so busy with exams and job hunting that I haven't really had time to write at all :( I thought I should pop something up though as it's been so long so here's something super short just until I get time to write a proper chapter

Ahkmenrah's laugh was music to Larry's ears.

"What the hell," Larry exclaimed, jumping off the couch in a mixture of disbelief, amusement, and a sort of mock anger, "I can't believe this! You sneaky bastard! And you," he said turning to Jed, "You were in on this too!"

"No! No!" Jed gasped - he and Ahkmenrah were, at this point, doubled over with laughter at Larry's reaction to the 'big reveal' but Jed managed to choke out a few words, "You should have seen the look on your face though, partner!" he snorted, wiping tears from his eyes.

Larry scowled in fake annoyance, sitting back in his place and folding his arms in over-exaggerated anger.

"Oh, Larry, it was funny," Akh chipped in, leaning on the arm of the couch to stop himself falling over in his giddy state, "I can't believe you didn't suspect a thing!" he giggled again, flinging himself down into the seat next to Larry.

"Why would I have? I've never met you before! I just knew you as Jed's friend. He talked about you all the time but other than that how was I to know who you were?" Larry chuckled, giving up his angry act.

"Well, I don't wish to come across as arrogant, but I am rather famous," Ahkmenrah smiled cheekily, bumping his shoulder against Larry's.

Larry's heart missed a beat at the brief contact before reminding himself Ahk was _too young too pretty too straight_ and now, to add to that list, too famous to be interested in a guy like Larry.

"Well, I'm sorry I don't listen to a lot of stuff in the charts! I mean, I recognised your song, I knew your stage name; surely that earns me a bit of credibility back?" he questioned, winking at the younger man.

"Ha, okay, I suppose I'll give you that," Akh said, "But I still can't believe you didn't know what I looked like!"

"To be honest I probably should have; my son has all your albums," Larry admitted shamefully.

Jedediah laughed again, clapping Larry on the shoulder.

"Ah Ahk," he grinned, "You don't know Larry like I do, man. He's far more interested in the _music_ than the people. A _true_ music fan!" he grinned.

"Well, I suppose I can excuse you for that," Akhmenrah said, crossing his arms with a mischievous smile on his face, "But do you appreciate my music, Larry? You're going to have to listen to an awful lot of it now; you'll be doing full tours with me!"

Larry smiled back, "You're one of the only musicians my son listens to that I can stand, actually!" he replied and then laughed at the look of shocked indignation on Akhmenrah's face.

"I'd be careful, Larry, that was almost a compliment! We don't want him getting big-headed!" Jed said, winking at Larry playfully.

Larry just laughed. He had been worried that he'd be looking after some stuck-up, arrogant rich guy... But this, Larry thought, this would be completely bearable. Fun, even.

How wrong he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been so busy with exams and job hunting that I haven't really had time to write at all :( I thought I should pop something up though as it's been so long so here's something super short just until I get time to write a proper chapter


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Larry tells Nicky about his new job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been so long since I updated! Hope people are still interested in reading :P it's a bit of a short one but I'm already working on the next chapter :)

Ahk stayed to help Jed and Larry sort out a schedule for his training and when he would be able to start working as Ahk’s bodyguard.  
  
“As I said earlier, the training only takes two weeks, but do you think you’ll be needed longer than that at the club?” Jed asked as he sorted all Larry’s completed paperwork into files.  
  
“I doubt Debs’d need me very much longer, to be honest,” Larry admitted sadly, “I mean, it’s something she’s known about for a while so she’s planned it out. I think we only have artists booked in for the next three weeks.”  
  
Ahk looked sadly at Larry and rubbed his shoulder lightly; Larry suppressed a shiver at the other man’s touch.  
  
“Well, why don’t you speak to her later and find out exactly how long she needs you before we decide for certain when you start here?” Ahk suggested, “I wouldn’t want to take you away from the club in its final weeks; I know it’s important to you.”  
  
Larry smiled at his new employer’s concern, “Thanks, Ahk, that’s really considerate of you.”  
  
The young man smiled back at Larry, almost shyly, and opened his mouth to say something before Jedediah cleared his throat loudly.  
  
“Well, that’s all that’s needed from you for now, Larry!” he told his friend, standing up and patting him on the back, “Why don’t you drop me a text later and let me know what Debs tells you? I’ve got some things to see to now so I’ll let Ahk show you out.”  
  
“Okay, thanks Jed. I’ll speak to you later,” Larry replied, standing to give Jed a hug.  
  
“So,” Ahk said nervously, after Jed had left the room, “Sorry for tricking you like that; I just thought it was pretty funny that you didn’t recognise me. I hope you’re not regretting accepting the job now you know who you have to look after!”  
  
“Of course not,” Larry smiled, clasping the top of Ahk’s arm in a manner he hoped came off as professional, “I can’t wait.”  
  
“I’m glad,” Ahk grinned, “Now, do you need a cab called? I can get reception to sort one for you. I’ll have to take you down to the lobby anyway; you don’t have your keycard yet. I’ll make sure we get one sorted for you by the time you start.”  
  
Larry beamed at how kind Ahk was being towards him, and as he followed Ahk out the room and towards the elevator, he thought about how relieved and grateful he was that he'd ended up guarding someone as lovely as Ahk instead of one of the many bratty pop stars he could have been landed with.  
  
-  
  
After dropping into The Other Side and speaking to Debs, who congratulated Larry on his new job and confirmed he would only be needed until the end of the month, Larry texted Jed to let him know.

  


  
_Hey Jed, Debs said I’ll only be needed for the next three weeks so go ahead and schedule me in to start after that :)_

To which he received the almost instant reply of:

_That’s great! Can’t wait to work with ya! Me and Ahk’ll definitely be into the club to say adios before it closes down so I’ll see ya when I see ya :D_

  


He shoved his phone back in his pocket after checking the time and hurried to his car; he'd have to hurry if he wanted to be on time to pick Nicky up from school. Larry couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he found out about his new job.

-

“You won’t believe who I’m working for!” Larry exclaimed, unable to keep it in any longer, as his son clambered into his car after hockey practice.

“Who?” Nick asked, his eyes bright and curious.

“I’ll give you three guesses; he lives in New York, he’s very famous, and you love him!”

"Uhmm… Spider-Man?” Nicky grinned cheekily.

Larry laughed, “ _Spider-Man_ , Nicky? Really? C’mon, take a serious guess!”

“I dunno, Dad! That could be anyone. New York is a big place; _loads_ of famous people live here!”

"Okay, okay,” Larry smiled, “I’ll give you another clue. Does the name Ahkmenrah mean anything to you?”

“Ahkmenrah?” Nicky repeated, wide-eyed, “As in Ahkmenrah _Amyr_?”

Larry nodded enthusiastically.

"You’re _Pharaoh’s_ new bodyguard?!” Nicky screeched excitedly, jumping up and down in his seat, “Please tell me you’re not kidding, Dad!”

“As if I would do that!” Larry gasped in mock offence, “It’s 100% true! I am Ahkmenrah’s new bodyguard.”

“Wow, Dad! I can’t believe it, that is so cool!”

Larry was bombarded with a million questions about Ahkmenrah on the journey back home, ranging from the obvious “What was he like?” (very nice, in Larry’s opinion - _and_ _insanely hot_ , not that he mentioned that part to Nick), to the slightly strange “How tall actually is he in real life?” (surprisingly short - but still taller than Larry), and the inevitable “Can you get me his autograph?” (something Larry was unsure about but said he’d try his best).

When they arrived at Larry’s small Brooklyn apartment they ordered pizza and Nicky insisted on spending the rest of the evening showing Larry ‘Pharaoh’s’ music videos (which, secretly, Larry didn’t mind, and he had a feeling Nicky suspected as much). Larry’s favourite video was probably ‘Treasure’; he loved the upbeat vibe of the song and the fact that the group all seemed to be having so much fun in the video.

-

The rest of the weekend was spent much the same way. Nicky was so excited about Larry’s new job that he showed him video after video of Pharaoh; live shows, from which Larry discovered Ahkmenrah was an _incredible_ (not to mention stupidly sexy) dancer; interviews, which just confirmed how weird and awkward yet funny Ahk was; and videos taken by Ahk and the band (including Jed), showing all the nonsense they got up to in the studio, backstage, and on the road. It looked like they had some really fun and crazy times, and this coupled with Nicky’s enthusiasm was enough to make Larry feel confident he had made the right decision when taking the job. He couldn’t wait to get started.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This is my first NATM fic so if you enjoyed it please leave a comment! ^_^  
> \- x


End file.
